Senior MLB Editor @RotoWire. @UWMadison alum.
Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Clay Link
RotoWire Roundtable: Final 2026 Fantasy Baseball Top 300 Rankings
With one last big draft weekend ahead of us before the MLB regular season begins Wednesday, March 25, the RotoWire Roundtable crew is back with our final Roundtable Rankings of the year. For those unfamiliar with the RotoWire Roundtable, these rankings combine four individual sets — from Jeff Erickson, Clay Link, Todd Zola and Erik Halterman — into one table, which is sorted by median ranking.
Tout Wars Head-to-Head Points Draft Review: In Pursuit of a Championship
Fantasy is in large part about knowing your targets and knowing your particular format, as there exists a wide variety of scoring systems, roster requirements, transaction rules, etc., across the vast universe of fantasy sports leagues. The classic "rotisserie" or "roto" scoring dominates the discussion in fantasy baseball, but head-to-head and points leagues now dominate the overall landscape.
RotoWire Roundtable Rankings: Updated 2026 Fantasy Baseball Top 300
Opening Day is less than two weeks away, and the RotoWire Roundtable Rankings crew is back with another update to our top-300 fantasy baseball rankings ahead of the two biggest draft weekends of the year. For those unfamiliar with the RotoWire Roundtable, these rankings combine four individual sets — from Jeff Erickson, Clay Link, Todd Zola and Erik Halterman — into one table, which is sorted by median ranking.
2026 Expert Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Top 300 Players
Opening Day is less than three weeks away. Rankings changes come quickly this time of year, sometimes due to players getting hurt in spring games or revealing previously unreported injuries and sometimes due to teams offering clarity about their depth charts. Sometimes, rankings change mostly due to a player riding a wave of hype, as was the case with Konnor Griffin, who jumped all the way from 228 to 154 on these rankings as his sky-high potential becomes increasingly clear.
February RotoWire Roundtable Rankings: 2026 Fantasy Baseball Top-300
Intro by Todd Zola It's been about a month since we last updated and with spring training in full gear, it's time for a refresh. For those unfamiliar with the RotoWire Roundtable, these rankings combine four individual sets — from Jeff Erickson, Clay Link, Todd Zola and Erik Halterman — into one table, which is sorted by median ranking.
Updated Top-300 Fantasy Baseball Rankings for 2026
A lot has happened since our last Roundtable Rankings update back in December. After a somewhat quiet holiday period, the stove has heated up over the last few weeks, with big-name players finding new homes via trade and most top free agents coming off the board. Just five players in this top-300 (Framber Valdez, Eugenio Suarez, Marcell Ozuna, Luis Arraez and Zac Gallen) remain unsigned as of writing.
2026 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Top 300 Update
Our updated 2026 Top-300 fantasy baseball rankings still begin with a dead heat between perennial MVP favorites Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge at the top. There is a bit of movement as high as the fifth spot, however, with Corbin Carroll moving ahead of Jose Ramirez. Elsewhere in the first round, Francisco Lindor moves down two spots, while Elly De La Cruz moves up three. Those are the sorts of small changes prompted by testing our rankings in early drafts and making slight adjustments.
Top 300 Roundtable
Who should you draft with the first overall pick of your 2026 fantasy baseball draft? We don't know! The first edition of the 2026 RotoWire Roundtable Rankings is here, and it's a tie at the top, with Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge each ranking first on two of our ballots and second on the other two.
Fantasy Baseball Head-to-Head Points Draft Review: Dodgers on Discount
This article is part of our Baseball Draft Kit series. Last weekend, I drafted at the Hotel Belleclaire in New York City for perhaps my toughest annual league: the Tout Wars Head-to-Head (H2H) Points league. I can hear the fantasy snobs now.
RotoWire Roundtable
This article is part of our RotoWire Roundtable series. This time next week, the regular season will be fully underway. Technically, the season has already started with the two-game Tokyo Series played earlier this week, but there's still one final major fantasy draft weekend coming up this weekend before stateside Opening Day on Thursday, so the RotoWire Roundtable crew is back for one more update.
RotoWire Roundtable Rankings: Bobby Witt Claims the Top Spot
This article is part of our RotoWire Roundtable series. At the beginning of the offseason, Shohei Ohtani occupied the number one spot in our rankings, edging out Aaron Judge and Bobby Witt Jr. That trio has remained in a tier of their own throughout the offseason, but the order has changed just days before the Dodgers and Cubs kick off regular season play in Tokyo.
RotoWire Roundtable Top-300 Rankings: Chaos at the Top
This article is part of our RotoWire Roundtable series. There's been a shake-up at the top of the RotoWire Roundtable rankings. Shohei Ohtani has held a slim lead at the top throughout the offseason, with his median rank of 1.5 edging out Aaron Judge and Bobby Witt Jr. by half a spot. In this latest update, however, Witt moved ahead of Ohtani on Jeff Erickson's rankings, creating a three-way tie at the top.
Updated Fantasy Baseball Top 300
This article is part of our RotoWire Roundtable series. The Eagles' blowout win over the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday night means it's officially the start of baseball season, not that those of us who have been drafting since last fall would necessarily see it that way. Pitchers and catchers report Wednesday or Thursday for most teams, with hitters set to arrive next Monday or Tuesday.
RotoWire Roundtable: Updated Top-300 Fantasy Baseball Rankings
This article is part of our RotoWire Roundtable series. Happy February! We're less than three weeks from the start of spring games, and just eight days from the unofficial start of fantasy baseball season, otherwise known as the day after the Super Bowl. Things will start changing more rapidly from here as the final set of free agents find new homes and as players report to camp and reveal previously undisclosed injuries, so the Roundtable crew will be issuing more frequent updates as a result.
RotoWire Roundtable: 2025 Fantasy Baseball Top-300 Rankings
This article is part of our RotoWire Roundtable series. Offseason moves are just beginning to trickle in, and Opening Day is still about four months away, but the fantasy baseball draft season is already underway. The RotoWire Roundtable crew is ready to go as well, debuting our rankings in November for the second year in a row. These rankings combine four individual sets — from Jeff Erickson, Clay Link, Todd Zola and Erik Halterman — into one table, which is sorted by median ranking.
RotoWire Roundtable: Our Latest Fantasy Baseball Top 300 Rankings
This article is part of our MLB Barometer series. The regular season began earlier this week, but Opening Day is still six days away. To help navigate these confusing times, we're back with another edition of the RotoWire Roundtable rankings, just in time for the final big draft weekend of the year.
RotoWire Roundtable: Fantasy Baseball Top 300 Spring Training Update
This article is part of our RotoWire Roundtable series. Welcome back to the RotoWire Roundtable rankings, now updated for March. If you're new to these rankings or need a quick refresher, this page combines four individual sets of rankings — from Jeff Erickson, Clay Link, Todd Zola and Erik Halterman — into one table, which is sorted by median ranking.
RotoWire Roundtable: Updated Fantasy Baseball Top-300 Rankings
This article is part of our RotoWire Roundtable series. Whether you count the unofficial start of baseball season as the moment the clock strikes zero at the Super Bowl or the moment pitchers and catchers report to camp, that moment is less than a week away.
RotoWire Roundtable: Fantasy Baseball Top 300 December Update
This article is part of our RotoWire Roundtable series. The RotoWire Roundtable crew is back with an updated set of rankings. If you missed the first installment, here's a quick refresher: these rankings combine four individual sets — from Jeff Erickson, Clay Link, Todd Zola and Erik Halterman — into one table, which is sorted by median ranking.
RotoWire Roundtable: Top-300 Fantasy Baseball Rankings for 2024
This article is part of our RotoWire Roundtable series. The 2023 World Series may have just ended, but the 2024 fantasy baseball draft season is already underway. So, too, is the RotoWire Roundtable, which we've chosen to roll out several months earlier this year. These rankings combine four individual sets — from Jeff Erickson, Clay Link, Todd Zola and Erik Halterman — into one table, which is sorted by median ranking.
RotoWire Roundtable: Fantasy Baseball Top 300 Final Update
March 24, 2023 This article is part of our RotoWire Roundtable series. Opening Day is less than a week away, so it's time for one final update to our Roundtable Rankings. Quite a lot has happened since our latest installment, including multiple significant injuries.
RotoWire Roundtable: Mid-March Fantasy Baseball Top 300 Update
March 15, 2023 This article is part of our RotoWire Roundtable series. Opening Day is just over two weeks away, which means draft season is entering its busiest period. Our Roundtable Rankings crew is back with another set of updated rankings, with many players moving since our last update at the start of spring games. The movement starts right at the top, as Ronald Acuna has now edged out Trea Turner to move into the top spot. The top of the first round remains as clustered as ever, however.
RotoWire Roundtable: Updated Top-300 Fantasy Baseball Rankings
February 24, 2023 This article is part of our RotoWire Roundtable series. Baseball is back, at least in exhibition form. Movement up and down these rankings is sure to pick up speed once we get more than a few hours of spring training action under our belts, but there have already been enough changes — starting as early as the second spot in these rankings — that we thought it was time to release an update.
MLB Roundtable Rankings: 2023 Fantasy Baseball Top 300
February 1, 2023 This article is part of our RotoWire Roundtable series. Welcome to fantasy baseball season, otherwise known as the beginning of February. While some drafters have been going at it since last fall, much of the fantasy baseball community is just waking up from hibernation. We're aiming to assist more of the early risers this year by bringing out the Roundtable Rankings a few weeks earlier than normal.
MLB: Clay Link's Main Event Draft and 2022 Player Shares
Last night, I took part in the NFBC Main Event. For me, and for most who play in the Main Event, this is The Big One. I've had my behind handed to me in the Main Event the past few years, and I'm determined to finish in the money this season. This was also The Last One for me in 2022, at least as far as redraft leagues go. So, after I discuss my Main Event draft, I'll provide my player shares list in the NFBC.
MLB: Tout Wars H2H Points Auction Draft Review
Rotisserie scoring is without a doubt the best way to play fantasy baseball in my opinion, but I've developed a fondness for the head-to-head points format. I have Tout Wars to thank for this newfound appreciation. A few years back I was lucky enough to be invited to Tout Wars and was slotted into the H2H points league.
MLB: RotoWire Steak League Auction Draft Results
Last night, 14 RotoWire employees and affiliates, myself included, took part in the RotoWire Steak League auction-style draft. This is a 5x5 roto league with 14 active hitters and nine active pitchers, but with one catcher and two UT spots. All players without a dollar value were taken in reserves. We haven't traditionally posted these results, but I thought this would just be another helpful list for fantasy players.
RotoWire Roundtable Rankings: Composite Top 300
March 23, 2022 Share This Article This article is part of our RotoWire Roundtable series. If you are unfamiliar with our Roundtable series... Jeff Erickson's projections drive our custom rankings. I have a separate set of 5x5 rotisserie rankings on our site, to offer another opinion on the player pool. But there are always going to be biases in our analysis.
Fantasy Baseball Podcast: Closer Update, 2x Starters, FAAB
Todd Zola @toddzola Todd has been writing about fantasy baseball since 1997. He won NL Tout Wars and Mixed LABR in 2016 as well as a multi-time league winner in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship. Todd is now setting his sights even higher: The Rotowire Staff League. Lord Zola, as he's known in the industry, won the 2013 FSWA Fantasy Baseball Article of the Year award and was named the 2017 FSWA Fantasy Baseball Writer of the Year. Todd is a five-time FSWA awards finalist.
Fantasy Baseball Podcast: Top 400 Prospects, Updated!
March 31, 2021 Share This Article This article is part of our Fantasy Baseball Podcast series. RW's Lead Prospect Writer James Anderson explains is Top 400 Prospects updates to Senior MLB Editor Clay Link.
RotoWire Roundtable: Final Update
If you are unfamiliar with our Roundtable series... Jeff Erickson's projections drive our custom rankings. I have a separate set of rotisserie rankings on our site, to offer another opinion on the player pool. But there are always going to be biases in our analysis. To help weed those out and provide the most balanced fantasy baseball rankings we can offer, we add the Top 350s of Todd Zola and Erik Halterman to the mix to compile this Top 300 composite ranking.
Fantasy Baseball Podcast: Sleepers!
Todd Zola @toddzola Todd has been writing about fantasy baseball since 1997. He won NL Tout Wars and Mixed LABR in 2016 as well as a multi-time league winner in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship. Todd is now setting his sights even higher: The Rotowire Staff League. Lord Zola, as he's known in the industry, won the 2013 FSWA Fantasy Baseball Article of the Year award and was named the 2017 FSWA Fantasy Baseball Writer of the Year. Todd is a five-time FSWA awards finalist.
Fantasy Baseball Podcast: AL West Prospects
March 10, 2021 Share This Article This article is part of our Fantasy Baseball Podcast series. Lead prospect writer James Anderson and Senior MLB Editor Clay Link go through James' recent review of the key prospects in the AL West.
Fantasy Baseball Podcast: AL Central Prospects + TGFBI Update
This article is part of our Fantasy Baseball Podcast series. Lead prospect writer James Anderson and Senior MLB Editor Clay Link provide updates on their recent drafts, including The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational (TGFBI) and the Beat James Anderson League, before diving into the top prospects of the AL Central. Keep an eye on Andrew Vaughn of the White Sox. James discusses his unique approach for drafting a roster. He employs a strategy different from Chris Liss'.
Fantasy Baseball Podcast: Dynasty Talk with Ian Kahn
February 25, 2021 Share This Article This article is part of our Fantasy Baseball Podcast series. RotoWire's Lead Prospect Analyst James Anderson and Senior MLB Editor Clay Link are joined by The Athletic's Ian Kahn to discuss two sets of Dynasty Rankings: one for Contenders and one for Rebuilders. How should they be used when drafting or trading? What's the most difficult type of player to rank/value?
Fantasy Baseball Podcast: Realmuto Injury, Dunedin, and More!
February 19, 2021 Share This Article This article is part of our Fantasy Baseball Podcast series. Todd Zola and Clay Link recap the news from around Major League Baseball. How significant is Realmuto's injury? What's in store for the new Blue Jay's arena? Find out on this week's fantasy baseball podcast.
Fantasy Baseball Podcast: AL East Farm Systems
This article is part of our Fantasy Baseball Podcast series. Lead prospect analyst James Anderson and Senior MLB Editor Clay Link take a spin around the AL East and talk top prospects, sleepers and best bets for 2021 for each team. Enjoy either the traditional audio podcast or the full video – please scroll down for both options.
Fantasy Baseball Podcast: New Top 400 Dynasty Rankings!
February 10, 2021 Share This Article This article is part of our Fantasy Baseball Podcast series. Lead prospect analyst James Anderson and Senior MLB Editor Clay Link dive into the updated Top 400 Dynasty Rankings that were just published to RotoWire.com on Wednesday. Enjoy either the audio podcast or the full video.
Fantasy Baseball Podcast: Bauer to the Dodgers
February 5, 2021 Share This Article This article is part of our Fantasy Baseball Podcast series. Enjoy Clay and Todd analyzing Trevor Bauer to the Dodgers, plus other signings. Enjoy either the audio podcast or the full video.
Fantasy Baseball Podcast: Prospect Mailbag!
This article is part of our Fantasy Baseball Podcast series. James and Clay start with the news of Kolten Wong singing with the Brewers. Then they dive into the Top Prospect Mailbag and answer your questions (most are listed below, past the video). Enjoy either the traditional audio or full video version. Here's the traditional podcast: And here is the full video from YouTube: MAILBAG Questions: Eddie W.: With the minor leagues in flux, does this impact who you target in FYPD drafts?
Fantasy Baseball Podcast: Top 400 Prospect Update!
January 27, 2021 Share This Article This article is part of our Fantasy Baseball Podcast series. James and Clay return with the first Prospect Podcast of 2021! They discuss risers and fallers in James' latest update to his prospect rankings.
Baseball Draft Kit: Magazine Mock Draft
December 29, 2020 Share This Article This article is part of our Baseball Draft Kit series. Typically, the results of this mock draft are not released until the RotoWire Fantasy Baseball Guide hits the shelves, but we have decided to publish these early to the site this year. We hope you find them useful as we all try to make sense of the player pool on the heels of a 60-game season. It's the Wild West out there.
Auction Review: Tout Wars H2H Points
This article is part of our Baseball Draft Kit series. Most things seem insignificant right now in light of what's going on in the world. This especially so, but I wanted to write a bit about the Tout Wars Head-to-Head points mixed auction from Sunday, March 15. Let's start with the participants aside from myself.
Draft Review: AL LABR Auction
This article is part of our Baseball Draft Kit series. For the fourth time, I sat among the world's elite rotisserie players for the AL-only League of Alternative Baseball Reality auction. I say this every time I write one of these reviews, but I'll say it again: the league has its own Wikipedia page for heaven's sake. It's a tremendous honor to sit at that table, and the league is tremendously challenging.
Baseball Draft Kit: Knowing the Rules and Playing to Your Format
I have a tendency to frame everything in the lens of 5x5 rotisserie when flapping my gums about baseball. In my mind, 5x5 roto with 14 active hitters (including two catchers) and nine active pitchers is the "standard," carried forth by the standard bearer in the industry, the NFBC. Everything is about evaluating players for 5x5 rotisserie first and foremost, but I play other formats of fantasy baseball as well.
RotoWire Roundtable: Top 300 Composite Rankings
Welcome to the first installment of the 2020 RotoWire Roundtable Rankings! Jeff Erickson does a great job with our fantasy baseball projections and those projections drive our custom rankings. I have a separate set of rotisserie rankings on our site, to offer another opinion on the player pool.
"Beat Clay Link" Draft Review
The kind folks over at the NFBC were nice enough to set up another "Beat Clay Link" league as part of the RotoWire Online Championship. It's always a fun draft, and the overall component ($125,000) adds an interesting wrinkle. I do not change my strategy all that much with the overall prize, but I do push up steals more than most people are willing to. Everyone knows that stolen-base totals are trending downward league wide, but I still feel like there's an inefficiency with steals in this contest.
Games Played By Position: 2020 Eligibility Notes
Share This Article *Notes assume a 20-game minimum for positional eligibility.
Top 350 Composite Rankings
The RotoWire Roundtable started a few years ago as a way of offering up multiple perspectives on the player pool with the hope of generating engaging dialogue around the players we disagree about. Of course, it also yields a consensus "opinion" with the average, or mean rankings from each of the five panelists, and a median ranking, which helps to reduce the impact of outliers on the panel.
Tout Wars: H2H Points Auction Review
Tout Wars Weekend was another great one in New York City. I’m in the H2H Points league and had a blast drafting with this group of Touts, some of whom are holdovers, some new to the league. We’ll get around to The Nelson Cruz Thing. Jake Ciely Clay Link Dr. Roto Joe Pisapia Andrea LaMont Paul Sporer Dan Strafford Ryan Bloomfield AJ Mass Ralph Lifshitz Ian Kahn Alex Chamberlain The league underwent several rule changes this year, moving to a playoff format and an altered scoring system.
Show More
loading
Actions
Get in touch with Clay
Contact Clay, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack